Person
Michael Herrera
Former serviceman who says that in 2009, on a deployment to Sumatra, he saw a huge octagonal craft and armed men loading containers. He met Rep. Eric Burlison with Steven Greer and Roderick Castle in July 2025. He says he was debriefed and made to sign an NDA afterwards, and that AARO's 2024 historical report misstated what he told it.
Witness profile
Former Marine who says that in 2009, on a humanitarian deployment to Sumatra, his team came on a huge octagonal craft and armed contractors loading containers. He says he was debriefed under an NDA and that AARO misstated what he told it.
Describes the witness from the record, their own retellings and how they come across. No score for the person; the factors at the end belong to the cases.
From the record service · posting · clearance · testimony
| Service | US Marine Corps; humanitarian deployment to Indonesia, 2009His account; deployment details not published | own account |
|---|---|---|
| After the event | Debriefed, made to sign an NDA, given an anthrax boosterHis account | own account |
| AARO | Interviewed by AARO; its Historical Record Report vol. 1 (2024) covers his accountAARO report; he disputes its summary in a memorandum for record | documented |
| Congress | Met Rep. Eric Burlison with Steven Greer and Roderick Castle, July 2025Burlison's office | documented |
Retellings over time from the transcript library and records
Following: An octagonal craft and armed men loading containers in Sumatra, 2009
- c. 2023 American Alchemy, Jesse Michels · first tellingThe craft, the hum, the armed men, the debrief. Not yet in the transcript library.
- 2024 AARO Historical Record Report vol. 1 · recordAARO summarises his account; he says it misstated him.
- 2025 UAP Gerb (Twentynine Palms episode) · held
actively loading containers, possibly filled with humans under an enormous octagonal alien reproduction vehicle in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia.
▶ 50:20Same core account, now set beside Castle and Weygandt. - 2025 Jake Barber, Reality Check · record
I dealt with a much smaller version of an octagonal saucer. This was a bigger one.
2:06:43Barber says he handled a smaller craft of the same eight-sided type.
first tellingheldclarifieddetail addeddetail shiftedrecord
On camera demeanour notes, timestamped
How they look and speak: hesitations, self-corrections, emotion. Dashed slots still need the video.
American Alchemy, 2023
His own telling on camera; the library holds only others describing it.Needs the video on Igor's PC
Feeds case plausibility consistency · restraint · character
Current factor values from the case ratings. The arrow shows which part of this profile backs each one.
Jesse Michels' guestsplausibility Moderate
Consistent over time1Herrera's story is the same across shows. ← Same story across shows.Character record1Military and Pentagon service. ← The record table: Marine service, AARO interview.
Profile updated 2026-10-23
On the record
- Testified to AARO in a SCIF with Kirkpatrick present (his account to Joey).
Open questions
- Who the former SSCI staffer is who took his account in the Hart building and relayed Rubio's questions.
Claims (14)
After his 2009 Sumatra encounter he was stripped, debriefed, made to sign an NDA and given an anthrax booster.Herrera encounterfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
AARO's Historical Record Report vol. 1 misstated his testimony, according to his own memorandum for record.AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1 (March 2024)Special Access Required - the Secrecy of UFO Crash Retrieval Programs [VOL.2]firsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera's memorandum for record (cited by UAP Gerb; to verify)
The octagonal craft he saw gave off a deep hum like an amplifier.Herrera encounterfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
The tightened handling of Herrera and Weygandt follows from the 1997 Twentynine Palms event with Castle.1997 Alien Reproduction Vehicle Encounter at 29 Palms, CA: The Testimony of Sgt Roderick CastlespeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)
His first public appearance was on Steven Greer's National Press Club panel in summer 2023, after he testified to Congress behind closed doors in April 2023.The Marines Who Got too Close to UFOsfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
Men with American accents held his team at gunpoint and took their camera and gear; an Air Force lieutenant colonel later told him 'you will go to prison or you will die'.The Marines Who Got too Close to UFOsfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
Unmarked trucks loaded the craft, one carrying a crate with temperature and humidity controls.The Marines Who Got too Close to UFOsfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
Joeyisnotmyname checked the October 2009 relief operation (USS Denver, the 31st MEU, CH-53s, hasty landing zones) and found nothing that contradicts him.Herrera encounterMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)analysisSourced, unconfirmedJoeyisnotmyname (Reddit investigator)
He was flown to a secure facility to meet a program insider, introduced through Greer; flight-tracking data prove the trip.Michael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)firsthandSourced, unconfirmedJoeyisnotmyname
The insider described a "blue group" with oversight and a "black group" reverse-engineering craft since the 1940s, EMP weapons and "P3" psionic recruits.The legacy programanonymousLeadunnamed program insider
Greer embellished his account: there were no guns to their heads; the team kept a standoff distance.Steven GreerHerrera encounterMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)firsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
AARO's report says "US Special Forces" and an "extraterrestrial spacecraft"; he never said Special Forces and always said human-made.AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1 (March 2024)Herrera encounterMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)analysisSourced, unconfirmedJoeyisnotmyname and UAP Gerb
At his AARO session in late April 2023, in a SCIF with Sean Kirkpatrick in the room, he was asked one question three times: who were the operators. AARO said it had satellite imagery of the day and would follow up; more than a year later nothing had come.Sean KirkpatrickAAROHerrera encounterMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program InsidersfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
He gave AARO and the Pentagon the names of his comrades, and Senate Intelligence Committee staff asked him to approach one of them.AAROHerrera encounterMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program InsidersfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedMichael Herrera
What Michael Herrera said (51 claims)
Witness testimony 35Alleged 15
“His team was a random 'stick' of chow-hall volunteers, not his own unit; a female Marine major briefed them in the wardroom, they drew loaner M16s and flew by CH-53 to a hasty landing zone, then went up a slope for security.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
Drawn and narrated in person for Gerb.
“The craft had a pyramid-like top, corners with vents, scale-like panels and red, yellow, green and blue lights only at take-off; it was 'the blackest darkest thing that I have ever seen', light seemed absorbed into it, and it hummed like a transformer.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
He says octagonal 'but could be circular'.
“As the craft lifted, it first sank slightly while the platform under it rose slowly by about 10 ft.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
“Four up-armoured F-350-type trucks with badges removed, night-vision fittings and off-road tyres each towed a dual-axle trailer carrying a ridged black container with a black cylinder at the front, later described to him as oxygen.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
“Eight operators with Aimpoints and PEQ-16s covered six Marines in an interlocking field of fire with safeties off, then took their IDs and scanned them on a thin smartphone-like device after a BAT biometric unit failed.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
He thinks more operators were out of sight.
“At his AARO session in late April 2023, in a SCIF with Sean Kirkpatrick in the room, he was asked one question three times: who were the operators. AARO said it had satellite imagery of the day and would follow up; more than a year later nothing had come.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
“He gave AARO and the Pentagon the names of his comrades, and Senate Intelligence Committee staff asked him to approach one of them.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
“Team leader 'Nathan' was not on his mission, and the photo of two men on a helicopter is not him.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
A camouflage match to the Daily Mail photo is disputed.
“At Steven Greer's events of 10-12 June 2023 Greer showed him an encrypted-app text, 'I don't want to leave Michael hanging, but I know what Michael saw'; a 2 a.m. text then named a CIA non-official-cover contact, who flew him to a facility, gave him a sidearm to build trust, checked for 'chipped' phones and showed him things underground.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
The meeting is firsthand; the contact stays unnamed.
“The insider group has 30-plus years in the program, is its enforcement arm with assets in law enforcement, the military and government, is split by a faction war over disclosure and oversight, and drugs recruits ('pink assets') so they do not recall what they contact.”AllegedMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
Hearsay from an unnamed insider.
“Non-human craft are shot down in deserts worldwide, and anti-UAP weapons are tested on craft lifted by balloons and on stationary ones.”AllegedMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
Hearsay; compare the White Sands lure.
“The group's own reverse-engineered craft are EMP-proof and cannot be hit by rifles, .50 cal or missiles; it is now 'very hard' to tell them from non-human craft, and civilian aircraft straying into restricted airspace near installations have been hit.”AllegedMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
Hearsay.
“He has spoken with David Grusch ('that's all I can say') and holds that disclosure 'is about evidence, not testimony'.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
“A 300-ft octagonal craft hovered 15-20 ft above a jungle clearing while an unmarked team with American accents loaded containers with climate units, then the craft left west instantly with no rotor wash.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
National Press Club 2023, as retold by Gerb.
“His first wave was armed and had no radios; an admiral debriefed them and their SD card and phones were taken.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
“On Okinawa a man in Air Force blues with no name tag told him he would go to prison or die if he talked.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
“He testified to AARO in a SCIF with Kirkpatrick in the room, with note-takers and no recording.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
Told to Joey before the report came out.
“Greer embellished his account: the team did not hold guns to their heads but kept a standoff distance.”Witness testimonyMichael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
Herrera's own correction, as relayed at 51:50.
“Herrera first gave his testimony at Steven Greer's private three-day event alongside the National Press Club event in June 2023; the insider was there, told Greer 'I know what this is', and after phone tag through Greer invited Herrera to his site.”Witness testimonyLive with Joey
Herrera's account as told on the stream by Joey and Gerb.
“At his April 2023 AARO session Sean Kirkpatrick 'sat leaned back with his legs crossed', typed nothing, kept a few handwritten notes and asked essentially one question three times: who were the operators. AARO promised a follow-up and never made one.”Witness testimonyLive with Joey
The session came before the National Press Club event.
“Herrera says AARO's Historical Record Report vol. 1 'completely falsified' his testimony.”Witness testimonyLive with Joey
“Herrera says his father has been threatened and helicopters have circled his workplace.”Witness testimonyLive with Joey
“Herrera says Greer over-dramatised his account of the gunpoint stop ('on their knees', guns to the head).”Witness testimonyLive with Joey
“'The group I encountered is private but plucked from former Special Operations groups. I know some of them personally but they are good guys helping me to an extent.'”Witness testimony9/1/24 Discussing WD Memo, 2004 JSOC Case and Q&A
In the live chat. He has said all along it was a private team, not US Special Forces, against HRR vol. 1.
“'Ross has definitely been in touch with me on some details.'”Witness testimony9/1/24 Discussing WD Memo, 2004 JSOC Case and Q&A
In the live chat.
“Psionic people ('P3' or 'pink' assets) are used to interface with craft or pull them down.”Alleged10K Live! UAPDA, Crash Retrieval Research, Q&A and More
“At a CE-5 night at Joshua Tree with his insiders present, about 1 a.m., the group counted 93 anomalies after checking each against Flightradar and a satellite tracker (ISS, Starlink trains); objects popped in and out, strobes appeared 'feet in front of us', and a gold disc was seen three times, once coming in like a shooting star and then curving up.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
He says the CE-5 work is "100% legitimate" and that he has photos; none were shown on the stream.
“Both nights two blacked-out helicopters with no transponder flew straight at the group, banked and left, while the CH-53s and Predator drones from Twentynine Palms showed up on the apps.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“Their range tracks the same objects seen at Joshua Tree when it switches on a certain system; the objects come in to observe, which is partly how they get shot down.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
Said by the insiders at the CE-5; Herrera calls the mechanism a hypothesis.
“After his AARO session Black Hawks began flying over him, including in restricted airspace under an airport zone, with no transponder and no radio; he sent photos and videos to AARO, the Senate Intelligence Committee and two DHS agents who investigate human trafficking and are pilots.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
His family has 'gotten messed with' too.
“Before going to the Pentagon he gave his full account in a SCIF in the Hart Senate Office Building to a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer, who then sat in on his AARO session and told him beforehand that Kirkpatrick was 'shifty'.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
The staffer is unnamed; no person record.
“Sen. Marco Rubio later sent him specific questions about his AARO testimony through that staffer, over Signal.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“The staffer heard people read into the subject say 'those operations, see what Mr Herrera talked about, that's how they happen'.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“He asked AARO and the Pentagon for satellite imagery of 9-10 October 2009 and they never answered; an intelligence-committee contact tried and could not get it either.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
AARO had told him in April 2023 that it had imagery of the day.
“He was flown to the insiders' facility unable to see the route until certain points, wearing a red Under Armour shirt and jeans with no phone, and was handed a pistol with a full magazine to build trust; he signed several NDAs with them.”Witness testimonyLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
The caption reads 'block'; the write-up gives Glock.
“The team at Sumatra was a privatized group drawn from JSOC and SOCOM, not a JSOC division; as contractors they answer to no commanding officer.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“A craft on the insiders' systems looks identical to Herrera's top-view sketches but is about 30-50 ft across, not about 300 ft.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
A different, smaller craft the insiders hold, not a correction of his 300 ft estimate.
“The facility he was flown to is in the 'Black Desert' near Helendale, California: an engine and propulsion test-stand site used as cover, mostly underground, and the largest of two installations that do shoot-downs.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“NHI craft 'materialize' in 3D over the range and are brought down only two to three times a year; most shoot-downs are of their own reverse-engineered craft, tested to be EMP-, missile- and bullet-proof, and the insiders 'have a hard time distinguishing between NHI and their own stuff'.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“P3 means 'psionic potential predisposition', the screening program; those who pass go to operations and the rest do maintenance and admin; people are taken from third-world countries, Mexico and via the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and a breeding program now produces staff who never go topside.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“The Department of the Interior (Forest Service, BIA, BLM) helps clear areas where people go missing into these programs, and 'black' controls it heavily; the insiders suggest FOIA there.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
A lead, not a finding.
“The organization funds itself in cash from narcotics, weapons and people, millions a year in patent income, and money siphoned from acknowledged programs such as the F-35.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“The Mexico event in Sentinels of the Ether is '100% real'; the book also carries planted errors to test DOPSR, and three copies went out (to Herrera, to Greer and one more) with names and wording changed to trace leaks.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“Sentinels synopsis: helicopters carried refugees in containers; a JSOC team was intercepted and murdered by the black operators; the containers went to a Chihuahuan Desert black site hidden by a holographic mountain; of two F-18s scrambled, one was hit by EMP and its pilot ejected supersonic; the helicopters flew straight through the 'mountain' and a drone was also hit by EMP.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
The insiders will not say whether they were there.
“Jonathan Weygandt was roughed up by the same organization that Herrera met at Sumatra and that his insiders belong to; it has good and bad factions.”AllegedLivestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
“The directed-energy system used to bring craft down is an Epirus pulsed-microwave system.”Witness testimonyUFO File Drop 1, Manhattan Project 2.0, Greer NPC, Highlighting Gatekeepers & QnA - UAP Gerb Live
How he knows the maker is not stated. Gerb notes Epirus CEO Andy Lowery studies noetic science (his link).
“In October 2009, on the Sumatra relief mission, Herrera and five other Marines saw an octagonal, pyramid-like craft shifting from matte grey to deep black and giving off a low hum.”Witness testimonyThe Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs
Named, firsthand.
“Unmarked US personnel in black fatigues loaded the craft from trucks, one carrying a crate with temperature and humidity controls.”Witness testimonyThe Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs
Named, firsthand.
“Men with American accents held the Marines at gunpoint and took their camera and gear; later an Air Force lieutenant colonel told Herrera 'you will go to prison or you will die'.”Witness testimonyThe Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs
Named, firsthand.
“Herrera testified to Congress behind closed doors in April 2023 and first spoke publicly on Greer's National Press Club panel in summer 2023.”Witness testimonyThe Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs
The press-club event is public; the April testimony is per Gerb.
Cases (6)
- 1974Coyame, Chihuahua, 1974: the Deneb report crash
- 1997The crashed egg in Peru (Weygandt, 1997)
- 2004The 2004 'blue on blue': JSOC against a Lockheed recovery team
- 2009Sumatra, 2009: Michael Herrera's octagonal craft
- 2024Jesse Michels' guests
- 2025Jake Barber and the golden egg
Connected
AARO orgDavid Grusch personEric Burlison personMarco Rubio personRoderick Castle personSean Kirkpatrick personSteven Greer personAARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1 (March 2024) document
Sources
- UAP Gerb: 1997 ARV encounter at 29 Palms, testimony of Sgt Roderick Castle
- UAP Gerb: Special Access Required, Vol. 2
- UAP Gerb: Jonathan Weygandt, Peru 1997
- UAP Gerb, 'The Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs' (YouTube, 19 Jan 2024)
- UAP Gerb, 'Michael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)' (YouTube, 28 March 2024)
- UAP Gerb, 'Michael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders' (YouTube, 30 June 2024)
- UAP Gerb, 'Live with Joey' (YouTube livestream, 23 June 2024)
- UAP Gerb, '9/1/24 Discussing WD Memo, 2004 JSOC Case and Q&A' (YouTube livestream, 1 September 2024)
- UAP Gerb, 'Discussing Lockheed Martin Project + "Sub Rosa: Organized Secrecy" Ft. Guests Rob Jones & Kermit' (YouTube, 6 October 2025)
- UAP Gerb, 'David Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb Live' (YouTube, 24 November 2025)
Mentioned on (16)
- American Alchemy: Matthew Brown on Immaculate Constellation, agreements and hybrid programs
- Area52: New UFO Witnesses Break Silence to Investigator - UAP Gerb - DEBRIEFED ep. 49
- UAP Gerb: 1997 Alien Reproduction Vehicle Encounter at 29 Palms, CA: The Testimony of Sgt Roderick Castle
- UAP Gerb: Michael Herrera - Insights into UAP Encounter and Black Program Insiders
- UAP Gerb: Michael Herrera: UFO Whistleblower (ft. Joeyisnotmyname)
- UAP Gerb: Live with Joey
- UAP Gerb: 7/20/24 Discussing Cases and Q&A
- UAP Gerb: 9/1/24 Discussing WD Memo, 2004 JSOC Case and Q&A
- UAP Gerb: 9/8/24 Discussing Steven Greer London Live Event
- UAP Gerb: 10K Live! UAPDA, Crash Retrieval Research, Q&A and More
- UAP Gerb: Livestream and Q&A with Michael Herrera 10/6/24
- UAP Gerb: Sept 2025 House Oversight Committee UFO Hearings Recap
- UAP Gerb: Discussing Lockheed Martin Project + "Sub Rosa: Organized Secrecy" Ft. Guests Rob Jones & Kermit
- UAP Gerb: UFO File Drop 1, Manhattan Project 2.0, Greer NPC, Highlighting Gatekeepers & QnA - UAP Gerb Live
- UAP Gerb: The Marines Who Got too Close to UFOs
- UAP Gerb: 1997 Peru UFO Crash Retrieval - the Story of Jonathan Weygandt